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391-Year-Old Bonsai Tree Planted In 1625 Has Survived Hiroshima And Keeps On Growing

I can barely keep my basil plant alive, but this remarkable bonsai tree has been around for nearly 400 years. Planted in 1625, the tree is currently 391-years-old, and if that isn’t impressive enough already, it also survived the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. The tree belonged to the Yamaki family, who in 1945 lived just two miles away from the spot on which American forces dropped the bomb that killed an estimated 140,000 people. Somewhat amazingly, the tree and the Yamaki family survived the blast relatively unharmed.

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It’s currently housed in the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. It was given as a gift to the United States by bonsai master Masaru Yamaki in 1976. Staff at the arboretum were unaware of the white pine’s connection to Hiroshima until 2001, when Yamaki’s grandsons explained its extraordinary history while visiting the collection. Recently Bonsai Empire and the NBF at the National Arboretum made a short video of the Yamaki pine, and you can find it here.